Articles
Yorkton Area PIM
The Partners in Mission for the Yorkton area of the Province of Yorkton are comprised of eleven (11) laity members from Wynyard, Ituna, Regina and Yorkton and three (3) Redemptorist Fathers from Ituna and Yorkton. The Partners in Mission meet three (3) times a year rotating between the four (4) above mentioned locations. The host location provides a delicious hot lunch, spiritual hour and a meeting. A chairperson and secretary are chosen for a three (3) year term. Two laity and one priest are selected to sit on the Secretariat for a three (3) year term. These meetings are held twice a year in Yorkton.
The Yorkton area group at the present time is spending a lot of time studying and sharing heavy discussion on our “Blue Book” – Called into Communion for Mission. We assist with projects reaching out to the poor through Outreach programs such as food banks, clothes drive or collection food/donations during Lent and Thanksgiving; visiting shut-ins in their homes, and hospital/nursing home visits. We assist our clergy with whatever we can do together as “church community family”. We offer prayers for each other during difficult times. Although we live miles apart we are together in spirit and do look forward to seeing each other at our meeting or inviting one another to special events being held in our church.
Partners in Mission from our area are:
Bernice Petryshen & Marianne Lalach (Wynyard)
Robert Wuschenny (Regina)
Ernie & Marion Spilchuk, Steve & Jeanette Karkut & Fr Boris Kyba, CSsR (Ituna)
Irene Pidkowich, Vi Protz, Doreen Rathgeber, Elizabeth Zahayko, Fr. Raymond Lukie, CSsR and Fr. Peter Pidskalny, CSsR (Yorkton)
Funeral Service for Archbishop Michael
Metropolitan Lawrence Huculak, OSBM presided with Bishops and Clergy at the closing panakyda after the Funeral Divine Liturgy for Archbishop Emeritus Michael Bzdel, C.Ss.R. on Thursday, April 12, 2012 in St. Joseph’s Ukrainian Catholic Church, 250 Jefferson Ave., Winnipeg, MB.
A large crowd filled the church with 8 bishops and more than 20 priests and deacons in attendance. After the internment, a hot dinner was served in the parish auditorium. A tribute from the family was given by Mr. Gerrard Bzdel, the Archbishop’s nephew and by Bishop David Motiuk of Edmonton.
A Heirarchical Parastas was celebrated on Wednesday evening at the Cathedral of Ss. Vladimir and Olga.
Internment at Holy Family Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba:
Obituary for Archbishop Michael Bzdel, C.Ss.R.
Obituary for MOST REVEREND MICHAEL BZDEL, C.Ss.R.
Most Rev. Michael Bzdel CSsR, Ukrainian Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Winnipeg, fell asleep in the Lord at his residence late Tuesday evening, 3 April 2012, at the age of 81.
The son of the late Theodore and Eudokia (nee Wasyluk) Bzdel, Michael was born in Wishart, Saskatchewan on 21 July 1930. The 11th of 14 children, he received his primary schooling in Wishart, SK, and then attended St. Vladimir’s College, Roblin MB for his secondary education from 1944-47.
It was at St. Vladimir’s College, served by the Redemptorist Fathers, that Michael discerned his call to follow his Lord Jesus Christ by entering religious life. On 8 September 1947 he entered the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists) and on 19 August 1952 he professed his perpetual vows.
He undertook his philosophical and theological studies at St. Mary’s Seminary in Waterford-Meadowvale ON (1948-1955) and at St. Paul’s University, Ottawa ON, completing a graduate program in Pastoral Counseling in 1971-1972.
He was ordained to the diaconate on 13 February 1954 by Bishop Isidore Borecky and to the priesthood on 7 July 1954 at St. Mary’s Church, Yorkton SK, by Bishop Andrew Roborecky.
He served in pastoral ministry in Yorkton, SK (1955), Ituna, SK (1956), Roblin, MB (1956 to 1967), Winnipeg, MB (1967 to 1971), Saskatoon, SK (1972 to 1981), and Yorkton, SK (1981 to 1984), including the district area parishes.
In 1984, Fr. Michael was elected as Provincial Superior of the Yorkton Redemptorist Province, a postion he held until December 1992.
On 9 March 1993, Fr. Michael Bzdel was ordained as Archbishop of Winnipeg and Metropolitan for Ukrainian Catholics in Canada, a position he held until his retirement in January 2006. As Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitan he was a member of the Permanent Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, served on various CCCB committees and participated in the IXth Ordinary Papal Synod of Bishops in Rome. He was also a member of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Catholic Church during its period of restructuration in Ukraine, the homeland of his parents.
Even in retirement Archbishop Michael continued to provide pastoral ministry especially to the residents of Holy Family Home and to whomever needed spiritual support.
Archbishop Michael was predeceased by his parents, Theodore and Eudokia, and 9 of his brothers and sisters. He is survived by 4 sisters: Minnie Sawchyn, Doris (Joseph) Sawchen, Marion Courte and Irene Yaskowich, plus numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral Services will be held in Winnipeg beginning on Wednesday, 11 April 2012, at 7:00 pm at Sts. Vladimir & Olga Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral, 115 McGregor St. with Hierarchal Parastas. Services will continue on Thursday, 12 April 2012, at 10:00 am at St. Joseph’s Ukrainian Catholic Church, 250 Jefferson Ave. with the Divine Liturgy and concluding rites, followed by burial at Holy Family Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Immaculate Heart of Mary School (Winnipeg) Building Fund.
Lenten Missions at our Parishes, March 2012
Table for Two – Feb 2012
Table for Two 2012
Once again the Redemptorist’s put on another successful Table for Two. Table for Two is an event put on every year by the Redemptorists for newly married or engaged couples. It consists of wine, a 3 course meal, and a short talk on marriage by different speakers every year. This year we had 9 couples attend the event. The evening started off with the lovely appetizers of punch, anti-pasto and pizza. Once all of the couples had arrived, and were seated, they were served salad (with a glass of wine of course), followed by their main course and desert. During each course the couples are given discussion questions, aimed at deepening their relationship. After the meal Fr Greg and Melita Zubacz gave a short talk about sacramental marriage, coloured by some of their own experiences of marriage.
The Redemptorist’s have been putting this event on for years. As a result of a successful evening, some of the couples have been coming to the event for years because they enjoy it so much. This year besides having a few ‘returning customers’ we also had a bunch of new attendees who were able to experience just what Table for Two had to offer. We also had a great group of volunteers who came out to help serve, both on the floor and in the kitchen. This event would not have been possible without their generous donation of their time and talent. So thank-you to all who came out, to Fr Greg and Melita for their inspiring words, and to all of the volunteers for their hard work. We could not have made Table for Two 2012 a success without you!
Ana and Jay - 2012 T-4-2 Conveners
Breanne and Matt – attendees at this year’s Table 4 Two
“As much as it’s sometimes difficult to come to terms with, relationships are not simple. They require work, patience, and a strong commitment that will last through thick and thin. To open yourself up completely to your partner is not an easy thing to do, but it is necessary to bring your relationship to that next, deeper level. It is in this aspect of building relationships that the Table for Two event is able to effectively bring couples closer. The evening was friendly and intimate in a welcoming setting. A very fine three-course meal was accompanied with conversation points, with each course touching on a different aspect of our relationship; followed after dessert by an enlightening talk from Fr. Greg and Melita Zubacz: hearing from someone who had been down the same road like us as a young couple helped us relate to them and the issues that all couples have to work on. Communication is such an important aspect in a relationship and this evening provided a safe setting to explore aspects of each other both individually and as a pair.
Relationships may sometimes be hard work, but Table for Two was nothing but a pleasure.”
Preaching in the Yorkton Province
Missions & Retreats 2012
Please keep our missionaries in your prayers.
May God bless all those who attend their retreats and missions!
Fr. John Sianchuk,C.Ss.R.
February 3-5 TEACHING Lay Formation, Saskatoon, SK
March 2-4 UCWLC RETREAT, Ancaster, ON
March 4-7 MISSION, Holy Eucharist Parish, Toronto, ON
March 10-14 MISSION, St. Josephat’s Parish, Parma, OH
March 17-21 MISSION, St. Stephen’s Parish, Calgary, AB
March 25- 28 MISSION, Rossburn&Russell Parishes, MB
Fr. Bohdan Lukie, C.Ss.R.
March 6 – 12 MISSION, St. Josaphat’s Parish, Muenster, IN
March 16-17 RETREAT for Women, Chicago, IL
March 18-22 MISSION, Nativity of BVM Parish, Palos Park, IL
Fr. Larry Kondra, C.Ss.R.
March 16 -17 RETREAT for Lay Formation Alumni, Saskatoon, SK
March 23-25 MISSION, St. Josephat’s Parish, Vernon, B.C.
Fr. Michael Smolinski, C.Ss.R & The Welcome Home Community
March 25-31 RETREAT for Young Adults, Theology on Tap, Guest speakers at Ss.Peter&Paul and St. Mary’s – Saskatoon, SK.
Fr. Ihor Kolisnyk, C.Ss.R (Provincial of the Lviv Province)
March 10-14 MISSION, Holy Eucharist Parish, Winnipeg, MB
March 16-18 MISSION, Holy Resurrection Parish, Dauphin, MB
March 19-22 MISSION, St. Mary’s Parish, Yorkton, SK
March 24-28 MISSION, St. Joseph’s Parish, Winnipeg, MB
April 1-6 MISSION, St. Vladimir & Olga’s Parish, Winnipeg, MB
Action Impact in Sask
Action Impact is back in Saskatoon!
Save the dates for 2012: January 28, March 3, March 31, April 28, May 26. Action Impact is an opportunity for young adults to take part in service and outreach and reflect on Christ’s call to share His love with the poor and abandoned. Action Impact is an initiative of the Ukrainian Redemptorist Young Adult Ministry SK and is open to ANY AND ALL young adults.
They Came & They Saw
Come and See . . .
- Participants of the “Come & See” experience with The Welcome Home Community
Experiencing in real life, what Christ
is asking of each of us – Chris Pidwerbeski
“And Peter answered Him and said, ‘Lord if it is really you, command me to come to you on the water.’”. (Mt. 14:28) For me this experience was one that truly challenged me to come out of my comfort zone, put my trust completely in God and experience being part of a community of The Welcome Home that has opened its heart and arms to embrace and live Christ’s call to serve the poor and to be one with the Father and each other.
How does one prepare for this? Well, I learnt that though we had our plans of getting to Come and See, God took us on a different route right from the start, and through it all He protected us and helped us overcome the “bumps on the road” that we encountered. Yes we had a deer literally hit our vehicle, which made me stop and wonder if He really wanted me to be part of the “Come and See” experience . . . and then He showed me how to embrace this and see the blessings . . . neither I or Laurie were injured, we were able to get a flight to Winnipeg, our “planned” schedule changed, and God was now in control of my journey ahead. I needed nothing more than to sit at Christ’s feet, and listen to His words to experience being His hands and feet in serving and learning from those we are called to be a neighbour to.
Arriving at The Welcome Home, we were immersed right into “Family Night”, visiting with the people from the neighbourhood who come regularly to gather to pray the Vespers and share a meal together as one family. It was overwhelming at first, yet showed me the love and respect they had for each other, and the meaning of “who is my neighbour”, what family was about and that prayer was always the center, the connector bringing all of us together. The next morning we spent at Siloam Mission, being the hands and feet of Christ in service to those in need, our neighbours. We got right to work in the kitchen helping in preparing and serving breakfast. I was totally overwhelmed by the atmosphere and attitude of the staff and volunteers and the love and dignity that they showed to those that came through the doors. The tour of their facility, the shelter, the services that are provided, showed how we are called to give and share what so many of us take for granted.
Spending time in prayer as community and the tour and time at Blessed Vasyl Martyr’s Shrine was an opportunity to reflect and walk in the footsteps of a man of our time who totally dedicated his life to serving Christ, His Church and a devotion to the Blessed Mother, teaching us how important it is to put Christ first in our lives.
The sessions that Laurie led us through, touched me to the core, as it made me realize how blessed I am. It made me look deep into how many things I took for granted; a safe and warm place to live, a job, clothing, family and how my life could change if circumstances changed . . . how difficult and different my life could quickly change. What did I come away . . . that building community comes through praying, sharing, working and breaking bread together; that what we have been blessed with, we are meant to be share with others and that I have a part to play in reaching out to share what I have and not to look the other way.
What touched me . . . the “family” at The Welcome Home . . . thank you Father
Michael, Ana, Matthew and Edward for making me feel welcome and walking and
sharing this time together in service, prayer and fellowship.
Redemptorists of North America Conference Assembly
Redemptorists of North America Conference Assembly
On September 12-16, Frs. Larry Kondra, Peter Pidskalny, Dmytro Dnistrian and John Sianchuk were in Ste.Anne-de-Beaupre with the Ordinary Provincial Councils and vocals of the eight provinces, vice-provinces and one region of North America for the first Conference Assembly under the guidance of Fr. Jack Kingsbury, our NA Conference Coordinator.
An intense few days accomplished a lot for our first effort. Briefly:
- We set up a committee offive confreres to prepare a draft of guidelines on Apostolic Priorities for the Conference. Their report will come back to the Conference Assembly whose task it will be to finalize a set of guidelines for apostolic priorities for the North American Conference. The members of this committee are: Bob Halter (Denver), Jerome Chavarria (Richmond), John Schmidt (Denver), Rodney Olive (Caribbean) and Ray Douziech (Edmonton-Toronto).
- We discussed the situation of Shrines in our Conference. You may be surprised to learn that Redemptorists have six major shrines within North America:
- John Neumann (Philadelphia, USA)
- Ste. Anne-de-Beaupré (Quebec, Canada)
- OLPH, St. Patrick’s,
Toronto (Canada) - Francis X. Seelos (New
Orleans, USA) - Bishop/Martyr Vasyl
Velychkovsky (Winnipeg, Canada) - Vietnamese OLPH Shrine
(Houston, USA)
- In order to help Fr. Kingsbury understand the levels of formation in each unit we discussed what was in place for formation across the 8 units. We also discussed the situation of
vocation recruiting. - We then elected, in accord with the Conference Statutes, a council to provide deliberative assistance to Jack Kingsbury. The Assembly council members are Jacques Fortin (Ste.
Anne-de-Beaupré), John Sianchuk, (Yorkton), John Schmidt (Denver), and Glenn Parker (Richmond). - There followed a rather thorough, but preliminary, discussion on the situation of confreres from
provinces outside North America coming to work here, either as individuals
(whether within an already-existing unit or solo) or as an independent community. - A Conference Secretariat for Finance was chosen: Jerry Knapp (Baltimore), John Steingraeber,(Denver), Mark Miller (Edmonton-Toronto).
- A Conference “organizational group” was constructed to look into what it might mean to
have a Formation Secretariat for all of North America: Dominic Dinh (Extra
Patriam), Bob Halter (Denver), Charles Duval (Ste. Anne-de-Beaupré). - We discussed a number of other possible committees that may be formed over the coming year covering the following matters: Partnership in Mission; Youth Ministry ; Redemptorist
Brothers; Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation. All of these committees are called for in our NA Conference Statutes, but it will take some time to get things up and running smoothly. - Finally, we discussed such things as how to make the Conference better known to the confreres and how to increase communication for things like ongoing education (eg, through
teleconferencing or the use of DVDs).
Fr. Jack now has more than a skeleton outline to work with. We look forward to welcoming him to the Yorkton Province as he attempts to visit various units during the coming year, especially at the time of chapters and other such gatherings.
Blindsided by God
Blindsided by God – Sophia Nahachewsky 
Ever had one of those moments that change your life
forever while you aren’t really looking? I had one a little less than a year and a half ago in Winnipeg and another a few months ago in Madrid.
I moved from Saskatoon to The Welcome Home in Winnipeg at the beginning of January 2010. My plan was to fill up six months of time at The Welcome Home as a detour on my way to Ottawa to study Theology. I definitely hadn’t planned on falling in love… with the Redemptorists’ charism and
ministry.
In March, I sat down with the Director, and Fr. Mike
asked me how details for the fall were unfolding. I replied that they were all
crumbling (although looking back, I don’t know what the crisis was). Without
missing a beat, he said that I was always welcome to stay for another year.
That was it. That was the anti-climactic moment when I was really offered a
place in a community committed to serving the poor and most abandoned and
preaching the Good News. God giggled. I accepted.
Even in this short time, so many blessings have come from
that decision. This summer, for example, I got to top off my World Youth Day
experience by celebrating with the international Redemptorist community in
Madrid!
The morning of the Papal Vigil a handful of our CUCP
group threw on their over night packs, hopped on the subway and headed to Gamo
Diana School for the gathering dubbed ‘Alfonsiana’ in honor of St. Alphonsus,
founder of the CSsR’s. We arrived on time, which is early for most of the world,
so we got to feel the energy and spirit build as new groups found their way
into the courtyard where we were all mingling. In fact, most of the itinerary
was thrown out the window, freeing us up to move at God’s pace instead of
hectic pilgrim speed.
There was a contagious joy in the crowd of Redemptorists
and young adults which wasn’t bothered by language or cultural barriers. Some
things are universal. Everyone laughed when the giant tarp over us rose up like
a parachute, taking the middle support poles with it. Everyone appreciated the
cold water bottles that were being handed out to counteract the midday heat.
Everyone got excited when the General Superior, Fr. Michael Brehl, addressed us
with open arms and a smile. Everyone applauded when three young men made their
first profession of vows. Everyone was moved by the music ministry at Mass.
Everyone was transformed a little when they were invited to partake of the Body
and Blood of Christ our Redeemer. 
My personal highlight from Alfonsiana, was another of those moments where I was blindsided by God. I got to attend a short unscheduled pep talk with Fr. Michael Brehl for all the Redemptorists and Young
Adult Ministers that were present. I can’t think of any other global Catholic gathering where the 21 year old nobody in the back row would be one of the few
people addressed by name, or where the fistful of Eastern Catholics would be pointed out repeatedly because of the good ministry that they carried out. The session lasted less than an hour, but gave people from around the world the chance to voice the challenges they face when it comes to Young Adult ministry, and in that I heard the love that those present had for my generation. It was a
hugely affirming experience. I had known that the Redemptorists where a dynamic
and genuine congregation before, but it was nice to have it spelled out.
I’m sure that as I continue to unpack the encounters I’ve
had through the Redemptorist community locally and overseas, I will see more
and more clearly how God’s hand was shaping me through these opportunities. For
now, I am finally in Ottawa happily studying Theology as a step on the road
towards fulfilling my vocation of youth and young adult ministry and spreading
the Good News.
Beatified in 2001, the holy relics (a fully intact body) of Blessed Vasyl are enshrined at St. Joseph's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
